3 Pioneers and Politics

“At this time was the expression first used ‘Root pig, or die.’ We rooted and lived and father said if we could only make a little and lay it out in land while land was only $1.25 an acre we would be making money fast.” — Andrew TenBrook, 1889

The pioneers who settled in had to work states. Southerners tended to settle mostly in hard to feed, house, and clothe their families. Every- ; the Mid-Atlantic in central thing had to be built and made from scratch. They indiana; the New Englanders in the northern . had to do as the pioneer Andrew tenBrook describes There were exceptions. Some New Englanders did above, “Root pig, or die.” This phrase, a common one settle in southern indiana, for example. during the pioneer period, means one must work hard Pioneers filled up indiana from south to north or suffer the consequences, and in the indiana wilder- like a glass of water fills from bottom to top. The ness those consequences could be hunger. Luckily, the southerners came first, making homes along the frontier was a place of abundance, the land was rich, , whitewater, and wabash Rivers. By the the forests and rivers bountiful, and the pioneers people were moving to central indiana, by the to knew how to gather nuts, plants, and fruits from the northern regions. The presence of indians in the north forest; sow and reap crops; and profit when there and more difficult access delayed settlement there. was a surplus. Because they came earliest and in the largest numbers southerners from , , the Westward Movement and were especially important in early Thousands of people crossed the Appalachian indiana, many of them Scots-irish from the Appala- Mountains and traveled the rivers and trails to the chian Mountains. Their way of speaking, preparing new state of indiana in the first of the nine- food, and building barns made these teenth century. This westward movement featured different from those who would come later to the three streams of migration. The largest stream north. Although they were from the South, most were was from the South. Next in size were pioneers from not plantation aristocrats. They knew nothing of the Mid-Atlantic states, mostly and breezy verandas or fancy balls. Most, like young . Smallest was the movement from the New ’s family, were too poor to own slaves.

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 56 8/29/14 10:58 AM Mural this section of the mural that thomas Hart Benton painted for the 1933 World’s Fair shows a young abraham lincoln alongside other notable Hoosiers and episodes from Indiana’s history. CaMPus aRt CollECtion aRt indiana univERsity CaMPus

Chapter 1 | Native in American History | 57

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 57 8/29/14 10:58 AM 2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 58 Settling Indiana Settling in the center the state. of Hoosiers to and linked expanded also networks road above the . to spreadwere beginning and moreshape counties the state of had taken part counties inthe middle the previous tenover year northward settlement. its intheof midst Indiana frommap This 1831 shows

s

8/29/14 10:58 AM CollECtions of thE indiana histoRiCal soCiEty Nearly all came because they had heard that migration. white pioneers also moved as links in a indiana had abundant, cheap, and fertile land. Most chain. settlers agreed with the fictional pioneer woman who knew that many were told her husband as he went off to buy land, “‘Git a against and that some had a dedication to their plenty while you’re a gittin’,” figuring that land would freedom and well-being. Thus, black pioneers sought probably never be cheaper than it was at that place and out Quakers and created all-black communities near time. them. The Beech Settlement in Rush had a Many pioneers believed that land would not only population of nearly four hundred African American provide their living but also lay the foundation for settlers by the 1830s. in 1831 one black farmer wrote freedom, equality, and . Those American back to relatives in North Carolina that his hogs ideals were important to pioneers. After crossing had increased in number from four to fifty in a year, through southern indiana in 1818 Englishman Morris boasting, “if you could be here i could go with you in Birkbeck concluded, “The simple maxim, that a man some fields that would make you open your eyes.” has a right to do any thing but injure his neighbour, Other black communities included Roberts is very broadly adopted into the practical as well as Settlement in hamilton County, Lyles Station in political code of this country.” Gibson County, and the huggart Settlement in Saint Among those seeking a better life in indiana Joseph County. in addition to creating lives of their were African American pioneers. Free blacks and own, some of these settlers helped slaves escape on the escaped slaves sought the same opportunities as . white pioneers. Many black families moved to indiana from the same neighborhoods in Kentucky or North Making Homes in the Wilderness Carolina. The process of moving from one place and The movement west was family centered. Brothers, settling together in another place is called chain sisters, and cousins often settled in the same county. Most new settlers were young men and women. Childbearing began as early as age seventeen. A new baby every other year meant a high birth rate and large families. Couples had no reliable birth control. As important, children were needed as workers on the family farm. Shelter was one of the pioneer family’s first concerns. Log cabins became homes and the symbol of pioneer life. Men cut logs, often of

Pioneer Quilt during Indiana’s pioneer period women sewed quilts from whatever fabric was at hand. this double- nine patch-pieced quilt was sewn by a woman in the crawfordsville

CollECtions of thE and histoRiC sitEs and histoRiC MusEuM statE thE indiana of CollECtions between the 1820s and .

Chapter 3 | Pioneers and Politics | 59

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 59 8/29/14 10:58 AM tulip poplar—later named the state tree—and notched all times for two years.” Later, women made them at the ends so that corners were secure. in the from flax and . The sounds inside cabins often in- spaces between the logs a mixture of clay, mud, and cluded the hum of a spinning wheel. women also made smaller pieces of wood filled the gaps. Along one wall quilts for warmth in the winter. These quilts are now they cut a door and sometimes a window, and along some of the most cherished of pioneer handicrafts. another wall they built a fireplace and chimney. The Men made shoes for their families, too, with no differ- floor was dirt. Pioneers built log cabins with few tools ence between left and right, one reason pioneers often and no nails, yet they offered good shelter. within the went barefoot. Few early pioneers wore underwear. log walls could be heard the everyday sounds of life— laughter and anger, work and storytelling, dying and the Pioneer legacy giving birth. Pioneers wanted a better life than they had back Food was also a primary concern. without any in Pennsylvania, , or Virginia. By and store-bought food, men hunted deer, wild turkeys, large, the indiana frontier was a place of success for and small game such as squirrels. The wild game that most. The woods, streams, and fertile land provided women prepared for most meals was supplemented by food, clothing, and shelter for those willing and able to nuts, berries, honey, and other food from the forests. work. Pioneers believed progress was achieved through Clearing the land of massive trees to plant crops hard work. Few starved. Most wanted to move as soon was the pioneer’s hardest work. The ax was an essential as possible from crude log cabins and corn mush to tool. Families planted vegetables as well as flowers better lives. near their cabins. Corn, which grew well in indiana, By the middle of the nineteenth century the was the most important crop. women turned corn pioneer era was nearly over. hoosiers had cleared and into all kinds of dishes such as corn pone, a flat bread planted most of indiana’s land. Those who could afford made from corn meal and water, cooked in a skillet it had built and moved into brick homes. Stores were over a fire; mush made from corn meal and water or built, and the new hoosiers bought shoes, underwear, milk to a consistency much like grits or porridge; and and many other items. immigrants had built Johnny cakes, which were like corn pancakes. Many and railroads, connecting hoosiers to people far away pioneers grew weary of eating these corn dishes. More and increasing commerce. A cookbook published in appealing to some was whiskey, which also was made New Albany in 1851 is suggestive of this emerging way from corn, although one traveler complained that it of life in indiana. it contains recipes for oysters and “smells somewhat like bedbugs.” lemon punch. hogs were everywhere on the frontier—wild and domestic—and deserve a place alongside the log cabin as central to pioneer life. The pigs that pioneers kept Moldboard Plow as livestock also ate corn and grew fat. Early winter like the quilt, the plow was an essential item butchering was a time for celebration because families for a pioneer family. Moldboard plows, such knew they would have fresh meat for weeks. They salted as the one shown here that was used to farm or smoked most of the pork so it lasted for months. near Frankfort in clinton county, helped pioneers plant crops such as corn that Pioneers made their own clothing. Early settlers fed not only the family but also the es Sit wore deerskins, much like Native Americans. One c livestock on their farm. ri isto later wrote: “i recollect of wearing one pair of H and m eu

buckskins winter and summer Sundays and e Mus Stat

Indiana e

tions of th ec Coll

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 60 8/29/14 10:58 AM s e it S

c i r isto H and m u e Mus e tat S ndiana I

e tions of th of tions ec Coll e Painting in th in Painting

The ’s Nest Marcus Mote (1817–1898) painted the promise the pioneers felt coming Erects a cabin in the woods, The Hoosier’s Nest, based on an to the Indiana frontier, Finley wrote: Wherein he stows his household goods. At first, round logs and clapboard roof, idyllic pioneer scene depicted in a Blest Indiana! In thy soil With puncheon floor, quite carpet proof, poem of the same title by John Are found the sure rewards of toil, And paper windows, oiled and neat, His Finley, published widely in 1833. Where honest poverty and worth edifice then complete. When Finley wrote his poem, people May make a Paradise on earth were already beginning to feel When four clay balls, in form of plummet, nostalgic about the passing of Finley went on to describe how a Adorn his wooden chimney’s summit. pioneer days. celebrating pioneer:

Settlers from the three migration streams: from Pioneer hoosiers set down the patterns and beliefs the South, the Mid-Atlantic in the East, and New that persist to our day. They believed in freedom. They England in the Northeast mixed with immigrants from wanted the democracy and good government that had Germany and to create a distinctive culture for been promised in indiana’s 1816 and the nineteenth state. together, they became hoosiers, later in the Constitution of 1851. Pioneers wanted with nuances that made them different than people progress, which sometimes required government help, from other states. Later generations would celebrate as in the internal improvements Act of 1836 that indiana’s pioneers as heroic people. however, most initiated the building of canals and roads. hoosiers were not so different from people of our own time. also wanted opportunities for their children. Some Some were lazy or selfish; some had bad luck; but hoosiers, such as Caleb Mills, thought a public school most lived good lives. system would provide opportunities for generations to come.

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 61 8/29/14 10:58 AM early life and loss 3.1 Abraham Lincoln’s experiences growing up may sound strange and exotic today, but his boyhood was typical for his place and time. Like all boys on the indi- abraham lincoln, Hoosier ana frontier, Lincoln did his share of grueling manual We reached our new home about the time the State came labor, and he was familiar with the perils of living in into the Union. It was a wild , with many bears and the wilderness. in the early , hoosiers had fresh other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. memories of the bloody altercation with the indians — Abraham Lincoln autobiography, 1859 at the . wild animals were also a clear and present danger. in an 1846 poem, the future the lincolns Move to Indiana president wrote about his indiana experience, depict- ing a frightful place: Among the early pioneer families to move to the new state of indiana in 1816 was the When first my father settled here, family. Thomas, his wife Nancy, daughter Sarah, and ‘Twas then the frontier line: son Abraham “Abe” had been living in Kentucky. They The panther’s scream, filled night with fear came to indiana because it was easy to claim its abun- And bears preyed on the swine. dant, rich farmland and because the state prohibited slavery. Thomas disdained the institution of slavery Life expectancy in Lincoln’s indiana was much as would Abe when he matured. shorter than it is today, due to disease and poor medi- The Lincolns crossed the with their cal care. One of the greatest tragedies in Lincoln’s meager belongings in November or December when tragedy-filled life occurred in October 1818, almost their son was seven years old. After crossing the river, two years after his family moved to indiana. At the they traveled about twenty miles by horse-drawn age of thirty-four his mother, Nancy hanks Lincoln, wagon through the wilderness. There were no roads to contracted and died. we now know the Spencer County, indiana, where Thomas had secured disease is caused by drinking contaminated milk from 160 acres near Little . The trip took two a cow that has eaten white snakeroot plant, which weeks. when the Lincolns reached their destination, produces a fatal toxin. The week before, Nancy’s aunt their first priority was to build a log cabin, which they and uncle, Thomas and Elizabeth Sparrow, who had did with the help of their pioneer neighbors. migrated to indiana and lived near the Lincolns, also The area around Little Pigeon Creek was teeming died of the disease. Milk sickness claimed the lives of with wildlife. Passenger pigeons, now extinct, were thousands of people in the Ohio River Valley in the then so plentiful the area was named after them. early nineteenth century. when Lincoln helped his There were also wild turkeys, raccoons, deer, and many father build his mother’s coffin, he was just nine years other animals that ended up on the Lincolns’ table at old. today, thousands of people each year visit Nancy’s mealtime. Thomas taught Abe, who was tall and strong grave at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in for his age, how to wield an ax, as every set of capable Spencer County. hands was essential to prospering in the indiana A year after his mother’s death, Lincoln had a near- wilderness. Abe also knew how to use a rifle, but he death experience of his own when a stubborn horse soon discovered that he disliked killing. when he was kicked him in the forehead at a nearby mill. So severe around eight years old, he shot at some wild turkeys was the blow, the miller thought the boy was dead and through a crack in the wall of the family’s log cabin. he summoned Thomas Lincoln, who took his seemingly killed one of them and never after “pulled a trigger on lifeless son home. After lying unconsciousness for a any larger game.” day, Abe regained full command of his faculties. The accident had a profound impact on him, and he referred to it often in his adult life. 62 | Hoosiers and the American Story

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 62 8/29/14 10:58 AM an education “by littles” 1859 autobiographical sketch, referring to himself as had kindled a love of learning in “he,” Lincoln wrote of his education, “The aggregate her son that was nurtured by his stepmother Sarah [combined total] of all his schooling did not amount “Sally” Bush Johnston, who married Thomas Lincoln to one year. he was never in a or Academy as a the year after Nancy’s death. Sally quickly recognized student; . . . what he has in the way of education, he Abe’s exceptional intelligence and encouraged him to has picked up.” read and feed his insatiable curiosity. Sally brought a in indiana, Lincoln attended school “by littles,” few books of her own to the Lincoln home, which her meaning he only went to school intermittently be- stepson devoured, often reading late into the night. tween the ages of eleven and seventeen. he was fortu- She saw to it that he took advantage of every oppor- nate to have a few teachers who recognized his intel- tunity to attend school, although the chances to do so lectual abilities and took special interest in him. it was were few and far between. in frontier indiana, children probably a teacher who loaned him The Life of Washing- were most likely to attend school only a few weeks in ton by Mason Locke weems, a book that greatly influ- the winter, when farm chores were not pressing. in an enced the future president. teacher Azel Dorsey, who was a resident of Spencer County, Westward Moving Settlers helped Lincoln master mathemat- ics. One of the most important arti- facts we have today from Lincoln’s early life is the 1824–26 sum book in which he wrote his multiplica- tion tables. A leaf from Lincoln’s sum book is in the collections of the indiana historical Society and another is at Lilly Library at indiana University. ty e i c

o Later in his life, Lincoln regret- S al c i

r ted what he referred to as his “de- isto

H fective” education while growing up in indiana. he compensated for the ndiana I

e lack of educational opportunities sy of th of sy e

t by reading everything he could. he r

; Cou ; once told his friend Joshua Speed, er ath

r “i am slow to learn and slow to for- ia P c i

r get what i have learned—My mind is like a piece of steel, very hard to d by Pat d by e

sign scratch any thing on it and almost e d p

Ma impossible after you get it there to this map illustrates how settlers from different portions of the country rub it out.” During Lincoln’s life- moved into Indiana. Where they settled in their new state often reflected time, indiana would make consider- where they had come from. new englanders tended to settle in the north able strides toward creating a free while settlers from the Mid-atlantic states settled in the central part of Indi- public education system available to ana. Pioneers such as the from the —Kentucky, , Virginia, and the carolinas—tended to settle in the southern part all hoosier children. of Indiana. the arrows indicate that the larger migration stream was from the south followed by settlers from the Mid-atlantic states. the fewest pioneers to Indiana during this period were from .

Chapter 3 | Pioneers and Politics | 63

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 63 8/29/14 10:58 AM a life-changing adventure in January 1828, a few weeks before Lincoln’s Sarah were always extremely close, and her death was nineteenth birthday, his almost twenty-one-year- another devastating blow. old sister Sarah, who had married Aaron Grigsby in Several months after Sarah’s death, a local store- August 1826, died in childbirth. She and her stillborn keeper hired Lincoln to travel with his son by child were buried near Little Pigeon Primitive Baptist to to sell grain and cured pork. Lincoln Church in what is now Lincoln State . Lincoln and jumped at the chance. The two young men began their trip on the Ohio River near Rockport. it was Lincoln’s first venture away from the lands of his childhood, Kentucky and indiana, and it exposed him to parts of the country that he only knew about through his voracious reading. Lincoln found the two-month- Lincoln’s Sum Book long flatboat journey exciting, this page from abraham lincoln’s sum book shows eye-opening, and at one point, how the future president practiced multiplication and dangerous. Along the coast of long . In later years, lincoln wrote that he had learned to “cipher to the rule of three,” meaning that , thieves attacked the given any three numbers and the proportion of one of flatboat, but Lincoln and his com- the numbers to the second number, he could panion scared their assailants away determine a fourth number such that the third and by pretending to have guns. fourth number would be in the same proportion as the first two; that is, in algebra: a/b = c/d or a is to b as c is New Orleans was a bustling, to d. For early Indiana school children, this level of multi-cultural city, unlike anything math was considered to be proficient. the two hoosier lads had ever ex- perienced. Before they went home, they explored the city. Lincoln did not leave a written account of what he saw there, but most of his biographers believe that he must have seen slave markets as they were a common scene in this major southern port. The young men returned to indiana by , which added another dimension of excitement to their adventure. in March 1830 Thomas Lincoln sold his land in Spencer County and moved his family to . Abe,

now an adult of twenty-one, decided s r al R e sou rce of N atu t me nt a r to accompany them. The Lincolns crossed the wabash River, swol- I ndiana Dep len by spring rains, at Vincennes and

settled on the near th e of t e sy Collections of the Indiana Historical Society Cou r

64 | Hoosiers and the American Story

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 64 8/29/14 10:58 AM Decatur, illinois. Lincoln would live in illinois for three lived here until he was twenty-one, the ages when his decades, until he left in 1861 for his inauguration as intellectual, moral, and psychological foundations were the nation’s sixteenth president. he visited indiana formed. Although he was six feet four inches tall, Lin- only once before that time, to campaign for henry coln looked like a stereotypical hoosier with his long Clay, the whig presidential candidate in 1844. The visit muscular arms. walt whitman, the American made a powerful impression on Lincoln, inspiring him who wrote “O Captain! My Captain!” about Lincoln, to write a ninety-six-line poem that begins: also said of the president’s appearance, “he has a face like a hoosier Michel Angelo, so awful ugly it becomes My childhood home I see again, beautiful.” Many people wonder how Lincoln the And gladden with the view; young pioneer from indiana became Lincoln the great And still as mem’ries crowd my brain, leader in the darkest episode in our nation’s history. There’s sadness in it too. There is no simple answer, but as one historian has As Lincoln’s poem attests, indiana had a profound remarked, “Although Lincoln left indiana behind, his impact on him. he moved here when he was seven and life as a hoosier pioneer never went away.”

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial The lincoln Boyhood national Memorial in spencer before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy county, about forty-five miles east of evansville, is the signed a authorizing that lincoln’s boyhood home be site of the farm where abraham lincoln lived with his designated a national memorial. family from 1816 to 1830. In Indiana, lincoln grew from The visitor center in lincoln Boyhood national Memorial boy to man, acquiring the convictions and strength of features five sculptured panels depicting scenes character that equipped him to lead the from lincoln’s life. artifacts pertaining to frontier life through the and distinguish him as one of the are also on exhibit. Visitors can walk trails leading to a nation’s greatest presidents. working pioneer homestead called the lincoln living The state of Indiana preserved and administered Historical Farm, the burial site of lincoln’s mother, lincoln’s boyhood home for decades. In 1962, one year nancy Hanks lincoln, and the lincoln cabin site. s rce sou e al R r atu N nt of nt me t r a Dep ndiana I

e sy of th of sy e t r Cou

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 65 8/29/14 10:58 AM After statehood, citizens expected government to 3.2 take action to improve roads. The federal Enabling Act of 1816 promised indiana three percent of the pro- connecting Indiana: ceeds from the sale of public land within its borders to Building early roads and canals be used for transportation infrastructure. in 1821 the state general assembly allocated the money to build The road traveled over today was execrable. At two dozen state roads, many reaching to indianapolis, all the creeks there are steep precipitous of hard the new state capital. This plan spread the limited clay, which are really dangerous. I was twice thrown out of my wagon at these pitches, and many places resources too thin. it might have been better if the were so bad that I dared not ride at all. state had planned a few main roads than a lot of inferior ones. — J. Gould, twenty miles from Indianapolis, journal entry, 1839 Road was a main highway that brought There was nothing romantic about being a pioneer. better north-south transportation to indiana. The The first settlers in indiana were generally subsistence indians gave up a strip of land north of farmers, meaning they used much if not all of the the wabash and additional parcels of land to construct crops and livestock they produced for food, cloth- the road in 1826. ironically, this made it easier to re- ing, and other items for the family. This could mean move the Potawatomi in 1838. it also stimulated white that their needs were only minimally met. however, settlement in . Fully opened in 1836, pioneers did not want to just scratch out a living. After the road connected the northern harbor of Michigan they were settled, hoosiers began producing a surplus City to centrally-located indianapolis and to the boom- of corn and hogs. These commodities were in demand ing town of Madison on the Ohio River. outside of indiana, but first the pioneers had to find a The was the other major road way to reach those markets. hoosiers also wanted the that served indiana. Started in 1811 by the federal same conveniences and comforts that people in the government, it stretched from Cumberland, , East enjoyed. isolation of its citizens from the rest of to the west. it reached wheeling, Virginia (now west the country was one of the biggest obstacles the young Virginia), in 1818, moved through Ohio, then crossed state of indiana had to overcome. Consequently, con- into indiana in the 1830s, connecting Richmond, necting hoosiers with each other and with the rest of indianapolis, terre haute, and many smaller towns. the United States became a critical public goal between Much of it today is U.S. 40. statehood in 1816 and the Civil war in the . Even major roads such as and the National Road were often in bad shape, with tree the of america . . . not! stumps protruding. in spring and fall rainy seasons, in the early 1800s, indiana transportation routes mud made the roads impassable. One traveler on were extremely crude and slow. Many roads were horseback from the Ohio River to Bloomington wrote nothing more than dirt trails that followed animal that his journey took him through “the most ill- paths, such as the Buffalo trace from New Albany looking, dark-coloured morasses, enlivened by streams to Vincennes or the Old Sauk indian trail across the of purer mud crossing at right angles” and that his goal Region. Some routes had been hacked out of was to find mud that had “at least some bottom.” the wilderness by soldiers during expeditions against The extreme indiana seasons helped or hindered indians. transportation depending on the mode. hot dry weather favored road travel but hindered travel by river or other streams; whereas wet seasons were good for water travel, but made roads largely unusable.

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 66 8/29/14 10:58 AM river travel Like the indians before them, hoosier pioneers A trip from indiana to Louisiana by flatboat could take were river-centric. They built their first farms and two or three months, depending on the weather and towns near the Ohio, whitewater, wabash, and white depth of the rivers. From New Orleans, sailing vessels Rivers, and along the streams that flowed into these took goods up the coast to Atlantic seaports. major rivers. Rivers were the best way for farmers to provided indiana’s main tie to the national market get their goods to market, but indiana’s rivers were lit- until the mid-nineteenth century. Flatboats were tle help in getting goods to the largest markets on the temporary, one-way craft. Once a flatboat reached its East Coast. The blocked the destination and the crew sold the goods, they disman- way east, and many of the rivers flowed in the wrong tled the boat and sold the lumber. The flatboat crew, direction—south-westward. As a result, few indiana usually hoosier farm boys, such as , goods reached markets in New York and . then took the opportunity to see the sights in New Or- Early trade from indiana mainly moved south to leans before they set off for home. Keelboats provided New Orleans via flatboats (wide, rectangular boats some upriver navigation. Strong crewmen with poles with flat bottoms) on the Ohio and Rivers. painstakingly navigated these sturdy, flat-bottomed vessels with pointed prows (front of boat). transport by keelboat was limited to lightweight or valuable goods, such as coffee, sugar, salt, and molasses. No other cargo was worth the hassle. After the , the revolutionary technology of steam- boats provided transportation. could travel upriver and navigate shallow waters. They were also much faster than flatboats or keelboats, making the trip from New Orleans to indiana in eight days. Steamboats on the contributed to the growth

this map illustrates road, railway, and networks as well as the major rivers. rivers provided one way to transport goods

(1970) and people. In the 1820s and 1830s a n

ia many main roads were laid followed by canals in the 1830s through 1853. s of Ind a However, the ambition of connect-

An Atl ing Indiana by water was never fully y, y, r realized due to the state’s economic ingsbu

K difficulties. By the railroads

t C. were adding to Indiana’s transporta- er

Rob tion network.

Chapter 3 | Pioneers and Politics | 67

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 67 8/29/14 10:58 AM Madison, Indiana, 1850s This 1850s view of Madison, Indiana, shows a lively ohio river full of steamboats and other vessels. Perhaps some of these steam- boats were built in Indiana shipyards. In the 1850s Madison was one of the most impor- tant commercial centers in Indiana because it was connected to other cities on the ohio river and beyond on the .

Collections of the Indiana Historical Society

of cities in northern indiana including Michigan City in 1827 the federal government financed indiana’s and South Bend, the latter connected to Lake Michi- first major canal project, the wabash and . gan by steamboats on the Saint Joseph River. Ohio work began on the project in the area River towns such as Madison and Evansville also grew in 1832 and moved downstream along the wabash because of steamboat traffic. River. Jesse L. williams, the chief engineer, supervised however, steamboats did not solve all of indiana’s skilled artisans who built locks, culverts, and aque- water transportation problems. it was still almost ducts. More than a thousand laborers, many of them impossible to reach indianapolis by water. in 1831 one irish immigrants, performed the backbreaking work steamboat was left high and dry when it got stuck on a of digging and moving dirt with pickaxes and shovels. sandbar in the shallow trying to reach the Fighting frequently erupted between the Catholic and state capital. Protestant irish workers, reenacting feuds between the two groups. The several jiggers of whiskey canal Mania they received each day in pay, along with their mone- indiana’s growing population demanded that the tary wages, may have helped fuel the hostilities. government do something about improving transpor- The opening of the as far tation in the state and increasing access to the outside south as huntington was marked on 4, 1835, world. in New York the Erie Canal had been completed with a grand celebration of speeches and toasts. Canal in 1825. This event started a canal boom in the Old mania spread throughout the state. Every region Northwest. indiana dreamed of connecting wanted its own canal. with the Ohio River via the wabash and Maumee Rivers.

68 | Hoosiers and the American Story

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 68 8/29/14 10:58 AM CollECtions of thE indiana histoRiCal soCiEty thE indiana histoRiCal of CollECtions

Recruitment Poster this 1837 advertisement calls for laborers to build the central canal, which was part of the Internal Improvements act of 1836. the plan was for this canal to go from in the north- ern part of the state, through Indianapolis, to evansville on the ohio river in the south. canal construction required massive amounts of work: from the first surveys of the land, to engineers designing bridges, to laborers removing trees and digging out the canal. canal laborers worked long hours and were exposed to the natural elements and disease. yet for the many workers who were new immigrants in Indiana, the ad also held out the possibility of a permanent home in the “flourishing and rapidly growing state.”

Chapter 3 | Pioneers and Politics | 69

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 69 8/29/14 10:58 AM the Internal Improvements act of 1836 The episode heaped embarrassment and interna- in 1836 the state legislature passed the internal tional scorn on indiana. A newspaper de- improvements Act, to-date the most daring piece nounced the state as “the land of promise for all the of legislation passed in indiana’s history. The goals knavery and thievery in the known world.” hoosiers outlined in the act were ambitious, optimistic, and, in were so horrified by the outcome of the Act of 1836 retrospect, unrealistic. But had the act achieved every- that they inserted a clause in the Constitution of 1851 thing it set out to do, it would have catapulted indiana that restricts the state from going into debt. out of its pioneer condition of isolation. The act laid Even though the 1836 projects were not com- the plans for three major canal projects: pleted and caused the state’s financial ruin, they did have some positive consequences. it turned out that 1 Extending the wabash and Erie Canal from even unfinished canals were better than none. Dur- Lafayette to terre haute ing the 1840s and 1850s large quantities of goods and 2 Building the in the southeastern passengers were transported on the wabash and Erie part of the state, to link the National Road and the Canal, and it provided a means for northern indiana Ohio River to ship goods to northeastern markets. when it was 3 Constructing the Central Canal, which would run finally completed in 1853, the wabash and Erie Canal from the wabash and Erie Canal near Peru south- was 468 miles long, which made it the longest canal in ward to indianapolis and down to Evansville the country. it stimulated the growth of many indiana The Act also promised a paved road from New cities, including Fort wayne, Peru, Logansport, Delphi, Albany to Vincennes and the construction of a railroad and Lafayette. The whitewater Canal, completed in from Madison to Lafayette via indianapolis. 1846, was less advantageous to the state, but it did in- to pay for all these projects, the legislature autho- crease farmers’ profits and helped develop towns such rized ten million dollars to be borrowed at five percent as Connersville, Brookville, and Lawrenceburg. interest. with East Coast and British investors on The “can do” spirit behind the internal improve- board, the prospects for revolutionary transformation ments Act of 1836 was part of the pioneer optimism looked promising. that had stimulated indiana’s development in the first All of the projects initiated by the act came to a half of the nineteenth century. The unfortunate tim- screeching halt in 1839 when the nation experienced ing of the country’s economic crash and other factors a financial panic and severe depression. Consequently, derailed an over-ambitious plan that had envisioned the projects that the internal improvements Act of sweeping improvements across the state. it was 1836 had promised were left incomplete. Even worse, perhaps the last time that hoosiers would place such by 1841 indiana was bankrupt and could not even pay immense faith in the hands of government. After the the interest on its internal improvements debt. Un- 1836 debacle, indiana preferred to limit government happy creditors hired lawyer Charles Butler to negoti- and allow private enterprise a wide berth—an attitude ate repayment. in 1847 the state legislature and Butler that persists today. reached an agreement, stipulating that indiana would pay half of its debt and the creditors would take stock in the canal projects.

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 70 8/29/14 10:58 AM 3.3

development of Indiana’s educational system It shall be the duty of assembly, as soon as circumstances will permit, to provide, by law, for a general system of education, ascending in a regular gradation, from schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall be gratis, and equally open to all. — 1816 Indiana State Constitution, Article IX, Section 2

early Pioneer education in the first half of the nineteenth century, hoosier pioneers had limited access to schooling. Most of them were lucky if they learned the “3 Rs”—reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic. As in so many other aspects of pioneer life, the family’s economic progress was the central focus. Children learned the basics of farm life such as hunting, building shelter, planting and harvesting, ty e i

spinning and sewing, and cooking from their parents. c o S al c

Parents might also have taught their children how to i r isto

read, write a few words including their names, and do H simple arithmetic. ndiana I

Church and Sunday school were places where e children were able to learn and practice reading and tions of th of tions writing. Sermons, hymns, and scripture introduced ec young people to words and concepts that became, Coll as in Abraham Lincoln’s case, permanent parts of Elementary Reader their vocabulary and thought. The first Sunday this page from The Elementary Reader to Accompany schools appeared in indiana in the , and by Webster’s Spelling Book (1835) shows the kind of textbook young Hoosier children studied if they were able to go to 1829, the state had more than one hundred of them. school. this book taught spelling and reading using Religiously motivated individuals and groups got illustrations for words and definitions. as students pro- them up and running, believing that the frontier gressed, they moved on to readers with moral stories and poems to read aloud with emphasis on proper pronuncia- sorely needed both and education. tion, enunciation, and pauses. Protestant denominations—Methodists, , and Presbyterians—led the way with Sunday school Books were scarce on the frontier, so the Bible education. Methodists were the greatest in number, may have been one of the only books that a hoosier but Presbyterians, often educated in the East, made pioneer child ever read. There was a void in secular, a big impact on not only religious education but or non-religious, indiana educational opportunities. education in general. in indiana education reformer Even though the 1816 state constitution had promised Caleb Mills was the most influential Presbyterian in that the state would create a general education system this regard.

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 71 8/29/14 10:58 AM that would be open to all citizens, progress was slow caleb Mills, “one of the People” to non-existent at first. Common schools, similar “Let us shut our eyes no longer to the teachings of to today’s public schools, were locally created and experience. Let us have a system based on the broad and funded, meaning they were funded by the town or republican principle, that it is the duty of the State to township, not the state. Nowhere were they free and furnish the means of primary education to the entire open to all. There were no state standards, nor were youth within her bounds.” there schools to train teachers. Therefore, the ability — Caleb Mills, to the , of teachers varied greatly, and they received very low December 6, 1847 pay. Schooling was catch-as-catch-can for hoosier Caleb Mills, a New England Presbyterian mis- children. in 1840 the state discovered how serious an sionary, was determined to bring both religion and educational problem it had. education to the frontier. A graduate of and Andover Theological Seminary, he ar- the 1840 census rived in Crawfordsville in 1833 to head a Presbyterian “The name Hoosier [remained] the synonym for ignorance.” school that became . Although Mills — Author Charles W. Moores, 1905 had been an advocate for public education before the 1840 census revealed the embarrassing statistics about The federal census of 1840 revealed that less than hoosier education, he emerged as the leading advocate one-quarter of indiana children between five and fif- of a state system of public education after the census teen attended school. Additionally, about one in seven report was published. adult hoosiers could not read or write. indiana’s liter- acy ranked eighteenth among the twenty-eight states in the Union—lower than all northern states and four southern states. in part, indiana’s high illiteracy rate was due to the scant education in the Upland South— Kentucky, tennessee, and the Carolinas—which had been home to many hoosier pioneers. Not surpris- ingly then, southern indiana counties had the highest illiteracy rates since many of the settlers in the area had come from the Upland South. But in the broader sense, the state’s illiteracy was the result of its failure to deliver on the promise of free education for all in its 1816 constitution. The 1840 census was a call to action for education reformers, who began an energetic cam- paign to create a true system of public education.

Caleb Mills (1806–1879) caleb Mills, one of Indiana’s greatest education reformers, served as Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction from 1854–55. Mills also helped establish Wabash college, where he taught Greek for forty-four years.

Collections of the Robert T. Ramsay Jr. Archival Center, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 72 8/29/14 10:58 AM Between 1846 and 1852 Mills wrote and distrib- such funds.” he argued for the necessity of state and uted six eloquent and elaborately argued messages to township school taxes, stating, “There is but one way the state legislature and signed them simply as “One to secure good schools, and that is to pay for them.” of the People.” They are arguably the most important Pressured by Mills and other reformers, indiana’s documents ever written on the subject of education General Assembly submitted a statewide referen- in indiana. he listed the causes of indiana’s dum, calling for eligible citizens to vote on the backwardness as “want of competent teach- question of whether to enact taxes sufficient ers, suitable school books, a proper degree of interest in the community on the subject, adequate funds, and the method of procuring CouRtEsy of thE WoRking MEn’s institutE, nEW haRMony, indiana MEn’s institutE, nEW haRMony, WoRking thE of CouRtEsy

New Harmony new Harmony on the Wabash river called, believed in abolishing private Maclure supported education that in what is now Posey county pre- property and in equality between was free and open to all, and he led sented an intriguing alternative to white men and women. Their plan the new Harmony schools. In 1838 the values and lifestyle of frontier required that all members work and Maclure founded the Working Men’s Indiana. From 1814 to 1827 two contribute as they were able and Institute, seeking to provide a place utopian groups that believed in the equitably divide the material and where laborers and their families perfectibility of society settled in cultural rewards. Though the com- could further their knowledge. He new Harmony, one after the other. munity quickly failed economically, went on to establish Working Men The first group, the Harmonists, were some of its ideas were implemented Institutes across Indiana. although who believed that the in Indiana by a couple of the commu- none but the original remains, the of christ was near. nity’s members. owen’s son, robert others were often the first free public They also believed in and practiced dale owen, advocated strongly for libraries in their communities and free education, but it is the second publicly funded schools, served three provided the base for many of the utopian group that has had a lasting terms in the Indiana state legisla- public libraries in Indiana today. influence on Indiana’s education. ture (1836–38), and was a delegate The Working Men’s Institute in new In 1824 industrialist at the constitutional convention of Harmony, Indiana, is now the oldest bought new Harmony and traveled 1850–51. operational library in Indiana and is from england to the fledgling state , often referred to as also a museum. Though the library of Indiana, intending to create a new the father of geology, came to Indi- was originally housed in a church, it way to educate and better society. ana as a business partner with robert was moved to this building in 1894. The owenites, as his followers were owen and stayed when owen left.

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 73 8/29/14 10:58 AM to provide at least three months of free, common- neers even argued that taxes were the greatest obstacle school education for all children. The 1849 referendum to what they considered was their God-given right to did not pass by a landslide, but it did pass. The refer- pursue prosperity freely. endum had a loophole that required a majority vote in Formal education was also not necessarily met each county to approve it in order for it to take effect with a welcoming attitude regardless of who paid in that county. Sixty-one counties approved it, and for the schools or how; some pioneers felt that it twenty-nine rejected it. This mixed response hindered was not practical for life on the frontier. But Mills the efforts to create a statewide common school and other reformers knew that in order for indiana system. to move beyond the pioneer era and toward a more Mills’s efforts impacted indiana’s 1851 constitu- sophisticated society and economy, skills other than tion, which established a system of common schools rudimentary farming skills were needed. and resulted in the passage of the 1852 Free School in twenty-first century indiana, there is a sense Law. The 1852 law mandated that counties statewide of déjà vu about the arguments for and against school provide at least three months of free common-school funding and public schools. Many aspects of public education and set up a system to administer it. The law education that vexed pioneer indiana resonate every also levied a state tax to help fund public education time today’s hoosiers face a new school referendum. equally throughout the state. Unlike the 1849 act, this As citizens weigh the pros and cons of raising taxes to law had no loophole or escape clause to let individual support public schools, they question whether taxes counties opt out. Scholars and educators alike consider are the best way to balance the school budget. Some the Free School Law of 1852 the most significant ac- voters ask if cutting subjects that they consider less complishment of indiana’s common-school movement. essential, such as art and foreign languages, would ac- Mills became the second superintendent of indiana complish the same thing. public schools in 1854. Some parents resent being told what subjects their children must study or which schools their children the Persistence of Pioneer thinking must attend. Many of these parents educate their chil- while many school supporters regarded educa- dren at home. Other voters support school vouchers tion as the means to provide equal opportunity for all that allow parents to choose their children’s schools, hoosiers, many of indiana’s pioneers viewed state- while pulling money away from less desirable schools. supported education as a step that would lead to a Thus, even with a statewide school system, the ques- more centralized government. They reasoned that this tions of how young hoosiers should be taught and who would result in less local control over communities and should do so remain open for debate. eventually to a loss of individual freedom. Some pio-

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 74 8/29/14 10:58 AM Northwest were rewriting their , begin- 3.4 ning in the 1840s, and indiana had specific concerns it wanted to address. hoosiers thought the general 1851 constitution assembly could function more efficiently. They were also still reeling from the internal improvements in- TO THE END, that justice be established, public vestment of 1836 that had bankrupted the state. order maintained, and liberty perpetuated; WE, the People in the 1849 election a clear majority of voters favored of the State of Indiana, grateful to ALMIGHTY GOD for a new constitution, with a vote of 81,500 for and the free exercise of the right to choose our own form of government, do ordain this Constitution. 57,418 against. — Preamble, Indiana State Constitution of 1851 the constitutional convention of 1850–51 indiana’s Constitution of 1816 served the pioneer On , 1850, 150 elected delegates met generation well, but by the 1840s, hoosiers felt that it in the hall of the house of Representatives in the needed revising. All other states carved from the Old state capitol in indianapolis for the constitutional convention of 1850–51. The composition of the convention largely mirrored the state’s population at the time, except that the delegates were all white men. Since indiana was an agrarian, or farming, state, 42 percent of the delegates were farmers. One-fourth

Indiana’s 1851 Constitution Much like the constitution of the United states, Indiana’s 1851 constitution contains a Bill of rights that follows the preamble quoted at the beginning of this section. Indiana’s Bill of rights begins: WE DECLARE, That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that all power is inherent in the People; and that all free governments are, and of right ought to be, founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and well being. For the advancement of these ends, the People have, at all times, an indefensible right

s to alter and reform their government. e hiv does the first line of Indiana’s Bill of rights Arc

e

tat sound familiar? It should; it directly quotes the S declaration of Independence. the constitution ndiana I of 1851 reflects how men and women were seen e differently at that time. In 1984 the phrase “all men are created equal” in Indiana’s Bill tions of th

ec of rights was changed to “all people are created

Coll equal.”

Chapter 3 | Pioneers and Politics | 75

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 75 8/29/14 10:58 AM were lawyers, and there were a few doctors and people 1851 constitution and Public Will from other walks of life. Of the 150 delegates only 13 The new constitution addressed a variety of issues. were native hoosiers; 74 were born in the South, 57 Confirming the basic hoosier distrust of government in other northern states, and 6 in foreign countries. power and enthusiasm for local control, it provided Because the Democratic Party was strong in indiana, for popular election of state judges rather than politi- two-thirds of the delegates were Democrats and one- cal appointments. it granted the vote to immigrants third were whigs. who expressed intent to become citizens and who had The four-month convention was a lively affair. The resided in the United States for one year and in indi- delegates worked hard, but they also had fun. Many ana for six months. The constitution also reinforced told jokes and stories, a favorite hoosier pastime. One the desire for popular, common sense democracy by newspaper reported that the delegates spent “hour proposing that all bills and resolutions “be plainly after hour . . . in fun, revelry, vulgar anecdotes, stamp- worded, avoiding as far as may be practicable the use of ing, hallooing, &c.” technical terms in Latin or any other than the English when the convention ended on , language.” 1851, after 127 days, the resulting document did not Most important, the 1851 constitution addressed significantly alter state government, but its revisions two issues on the public radar in the 1840s—the had lasting impact. The voting public approved the state’s massive debt caused by the internal improve- new constitution in the election of 1851, and it im- ments Act of 1836, and the need for better public mediately went into effect. The 1851 indiana State education as indicated in the 1840 census data that Constitution has been the basic op- revealed indiana’s high illiteracy rates. Because the erating manual for state and state was still in austerity mode, delegates established local government for more biennial (every other year) legislative sessions of than a century and a half. sixty-one days to save money. The delegates also wrote For a few months of ev- a provision in the new constitution prohibiting the ery year, when the state state from incurring debt, a provision that would limit legislature is in session, options in changing times in the future. The delegates’ the original copy is on sentiment was so strong on this point that there was display at the statehouse little room for compromise. Democrat delegate Daniel in indianapolis. Read, an indiana University professor, argued that the state’s credit should never be risked on another massive project. he stated that business should be robert dale owen (1801–1877) first entered state politics put in the hands of pri- in 1835, representing Posey county. In the 1840s he vate companies, and not became a U.s. congressman, and in 1851 he served as a delegate to the Indiana state in what he perceived to be constitutional convention. owen sup- the incapable hands of the ported amending the constitution to government. Read said, fund common schools and to grant “Public debt is a hydra property rights to married women. later, owen would help to central- [multi]-headed monster, ize and fund common schools in which is always springing the Free school Bill of 1852 and forth in some new form, speak out against slavery leading and under some new up to and during the civil War. pretext. Cut it off in the Collections of the Indiana Historical Society

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 76 8/29/14 10:58 AM nation,—straitway, it shoots forth in the States—cut Women’s rights or lack thereof it off in the States—it comes forth in the counties— The new constitution left large parts of the state’s cut it off in the counties—and it steals forth in the population out of the equation. Only white men could form of town or city bonds.” vote, and married women were barred from own- Another delegate, , a whig ing property. At the convention, Robert Dale Owen journalist from South Bend, who later served as proposed an amendment to grant married women the Ulysses S. Grant’s vice-president, stated that the only right to own property. Opponents warned that social way indiana should go into debt again was by a vote chaos would result if women had equal property rights; of the citizens in the state. Colfax explained, “The past they argued that women should remain in the home history of our State is the best argument in favor of and raise children. Delegates cited biblical scripture to this amendment . . . as we have suffered more than other States from the results of impru- dent debt, which still hangs over us, impairing our prosperity, and impeding our progress and advancement as a State.” Thanks to the efforts of Caleb Mills and other education reformers such as conven- tion delegate Robert Dale Owen from New harmony, public endorsement of state-wide common schools was finally strong enough that the new constitution established a per- manent fund to support schools and provided for a state superintendent to head the school system. The 1851 constitution paved the way for the 1852 Free School Law, and a new day dawned for indiana public schools.

Woman’s Rights Association of Indiana In 1851 the Woman’s rights association of Indiana was founded on the principle of women’s , the right to vote. In 1852 the association passed resolutions that affirmed women should have the same opportunities as men including education, equal pay for employment, and basic citizen- ship rights. In 1859 dr. Mary F. thomas and addressed the Indiana General assembly to petition for these rights.

thomas stated that women should “assert ty

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their right to the elective franchise, and the S

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Chapter 3 | Pioneers and Politics | 77

2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 77 8/29/14 10:58 AM refuse women equal rights, “Paul says that the hus- Dublin, wayne County, for the state’s first women’s band is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head rights convention. way told the convention: “Unless of the Church, and that wives are to subject themselves women demand their rights politically, socially, and unto their husbands.” financially, they will continue in the future, as in the women in the visitors’ galleries witnessed Owen’s past, to be classed with negroes, criminals, insane proposal go down in flames, but they were grateful persons, idiots, and infants.” The convention resulted for his efforts. Fifteen women led by Sarah t. Bolton, in the formation of the woman’s Rights Association a noted poet, honored Owen with a testimonial. They of indiana, which, over presented the New harmony reformer with an en- many years, took the graved silver pitcher on the floor of the house, the first first steps toward time women were allowed in the space. winning equality Although newspapers mocked the gesture of the for women in women who honored Owen, more women began to be indiana. Almost involved in the fight for equal rights. At an anti-slavery seventy years meeting in henry County, , a young would pass before Quaker woman, changed the subject from slavery to American women women and called for a meeting to discuss women’s gained the rights. in October 1851 hoosier women gathered in right to vote.

Zerelda G. Wallace (1817–1901) In 1881 the Indiana General assembly voted to approve a constitutional amendment granting voting rights, suffrage, to women. although the resolution ultimately failed to become law after a second round of voting, it was thanks to suffragists such as Zerelda Wallace and that the resolution got so far in the assembly. Born in Kentucky, Wallace came to Indianapolis when she was a young woman. she married and raised a family, including her well-known stepson (see chapter 4). after her children were grown, Wallace became active in the suffrage and temperance, anti-alcohol, Movements. the sexism, or prejudice, she faced publicly as president of the Woman’s christian temperance Union led her to become an ardent suffragist. In 1878 Wallace and other prominent Indianapolis men and women formed the Indianapolis equal suffrage society. Wallace also served as president of this organization, which lobbied Indiana legislators to support suffrage before the 1881 vote. Wallace remained active on a national scale following this defeat; but unfortunately, she did not live to see women gain the right to vote in 1920.

Carrie Chapman Catt Papers, Special Collections Department, Bryn Mawr College

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 78 8/29/14 10:58 AM selected Bibliography Abraham Lincoln: A Living Legacy—A Guide to Three Abraham Lincoln Kettleborough, Charles. Constitution Making in Indiana: A Source National Park Sites. Virginia Beach, VA: Donning, 2007. Book of Constitutional Documents with Historical Introduction Arndt, Karl J. R. ’s , 1785–1847. and Critical Notes. Vol. 1. 1916. Reprint, indianapolis: indiana Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1965. historical Bureau, 1971. indiana historical Bureau and Baer, M. teresa. “Loyalty, Morality, and Uniformity: indiana’s , 1816 constitution, http://www Search for a Cohesive Society through Public Schooling. .in.gov/history/2460.htm; 1851 constitution, http://www Journal for the Liberal Arts and Sciences 17, no. 1 (Fall 2012): .in.gov/history/2473.htm. 11–33. Kingsbury, Robert C., and John M. hollingsworth. An Atlas of Bartelt, william E. There I Grew Up: Remembering Abraham Lincoln’s Indiana. Bloomington: Geography Department, indiana Indiana Youth. indianapolis: indiana historical Society Press, University, 1970. 2008. Lincoln, Abraham. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Edited Berthoff, Rowland. “‘A Little Nonsense Now and Then’: by Roy P. Basler, et al. 9 vols. New , NJ: Rutgers Conventional humor in indiana, 1850.” Indiana Magazine University Press, 1953–55. of History 90, no. 2 (June 1994): 109–26. Lindley, harlow, ed. Indiana as Seen by Early Travelers. indianapolis: Boone, Richard G. History of Education in Indiana. 1892. Reprint, indiana historical Bureau, 1916. indianapolis: indiana historical Bureau, 1941. Madison, James h. Hoosiers: A New . Carmony, Donald F., ed. “From Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Bloomington: indiana University Press; indianapolis: to Parke County, indiana: Recollections of Andrew tenBrook, indiana historical Society Press, 2014. 1786–1823.” Indiana Magazine of History 61, no. 1 (March McCord, Shirley S., comp. Travel Accounts of Indiana, 1679–1961. 1965): 1–30. indianapolis: indiana historical Bureau, 1970. ———. “historical Background of the Restrictions against State Mills, Caleb. An Address to the Legislature of Indiana at the Debt in the indiana Constitution of 1851.” Indiana Magazine Commencement of Its Session, December 6, 1847, upon of History 47, no. 2 (June 1951): 129–42. Popular Education. indianapolis: John D. Defrees, 1848. ———. Indiana, 1816–1850: The Pioneer Era. The history of internet Archive, http://www.archive.org/stream indiana, vol. 2. indianapolis: indiana historical Bureau and /anaddresstolegi00milgoog#page/n4/mode/2up. indiana historical Society, 1998. Moores, Charles w. Caleb Mills and the Indiana School System. Crumrin, timothy. “women and the Law in Early 19th-Century indianapolis: wood– Printing, 1905. indiana.” Conner interactive history Park, https:// Newman, Otho Lionel. “Development of the Common Schools www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/indiana-history of indiana to 1851.” Indiana Magazine of History 22, no. 3 /America-1800-1860/women-And-The-Law-in-Early-19th (September 1926): 229–76. -Century.aspx. Osborn, Elizabeth R. “The influence of Culture and Gender on the Eggleston, Edward. The Hoosier School-Master: A Novel. 1871. Creation of Law in Antebellum indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.” Reprint, Bloomington: indiana University Press, 1984. PhD diss., indiana University, 2004. Fatout, Paul. Indiana Canals. west Lafayette: Peterson, Dr. “Rule of Three.” The Math Forum at Drexel. Studies, 1972. Drexel University, http://mathforum.org/library/drmath Fowler, h., convention reporter. Report of the Debates and /view/60822.html. Proceedings of the Convention for the Revision of the Pitzer, Donald E., ed. Robert Owen’s American Legacy: Proceedings of Constitution of the State of Indiana. indianapolis: A. h. the Robert Owen Bicentennial Conference. indianapolis: indiana Brown, 1850. internet Archive, https://archive.org/details historical Society, 1972. /reportdebatesan00indigoog. Reese, william J., ed. Hoosier Schools, Past and Present. Full text of the 1816 Constitution. indiana Commission on Public Bloomington: indiana University Press, 1998. Records. iN.gov, http://www.in.gov/icpr/2778.htm. Reynolds, David S. “Lincoln and whitman.” history Now: American Gould, J. “wanderings in the west in 1839.” Indiana Magazine of history Online. The Gilder Lehrman institute of American History 30, no. 1 (March 1934): 71–103. history, https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era hall, Baynard Rush. The New Purchase or Seven and a Half Years in /american-civil-war/essays/lincoln-and-whitman. the Far West. Princeton, NJ: Press, 1916. Sandweiss, Lee Ann. “was Lincoln a hoosier?” Indiana University haller, Steve. “The Meanings of hoosier: 175 Years and Counting.” Alumni Magazine 70, no. 4 (January/February 2008): 46–51. Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History 20, no. 4 (Fall 2008): Vincent, Stephen A. Southern Seed, Northern Soil: African–American 4–13. Farm Communities in the Midwest, 1765–1900. Bloomington: indiana University Press, 1999. warren, Louis A. Lincoln’s Youth: Indiana Years, 1816–1830. indianapolis: indiana historical Society, 1991.

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2033-12 Hoosiers American Story.indd 79 8/29/14 10:58 AM chapter 3 HOOSIERS and the AMERICAN STORY | STUDENT GUIDE ACTIVITIES

Essential Questions be completed individually as self-contained mini-lessons or together as a group project, you will take a look at 1 what was the pattern of pioneer migration into what indiana’s 1851 State Constitution has to say about indiana? where did settlers to indiana come from, the issues, and you will take a stand on the issues and what attracted them to the state? yourselves. 2 Describe the conditions on the indiana frontier. Activity 1: Public Debt 3 why was the development of transportation routes u reread section 3.2 of chapter three, which addresses such a critical need in pioneer indiana? Name at least two important land and/or water route improvement the Internal Improvements act of 1836. With a projects. partner, discuss how this piece of legislation impacted Indiana. 4 how did the internal improvements Act of 1836 get u the state of indiana into trouble? what is a lasting now, read article X, section 5 of the 1851 consequence of this situation?* constitution, which states: No law shall authorize any debt to be contracted, on 5 how did education reformer Caleb Mills attempt to strengthen indiana’s education system and realize, or behalf of the State, except in the following cases: to achieve, the ideal of free public education set forth in meet casual deficits in the revenue; to pay the interest the 1816 constitution?* on the State debt; to repel invasion, suppress insur- rection, or, if hostilities be threatened, provide for the 6 what lasting impacts did the Owenites, a utopian public defense. community in New harmony, have on indiana? u talk with your partner about how this provision was 7 how did the 1851 constitution address the issues of designed to prevent a situation similar to the canal public debt and free public education? debacle.

8 how did the 1851 constitution fail hoosier women?* Much has been made recently of the size of the national debt. Some people argue that government spending is *See student activities related to this question. out of control and programs such as Medicare (the federal health insurance program for people age sixty-five and Three Key Issues in the 1851 Constitution older) must be slashed to rein in the national debt. Chapter three relates the trials, triumphs, and tribula- Others argue that while spending should be scrutinized, tions that hoosiers experienced during the pioneer era. increasing revenues—for example, through higher As more people flooded into indiana, the state needed rates on the highest tax brackets—is a solution that to develop a stronger infrastructure, such as roads and helps address the problem without harming society’s canals. indiana also needed institutions, such as public disadvantaged. schools, to serve the people of the state. As hoosiers at- u What do you think? should the federal government tempted to build transportation and educational systems follow Indiana’s lead (more than 160 years later) and capable of serving the growing population, it became amend the U.s. constitution to stipulate that the clear that the 1816 constitution needed to be updated. federal government cannot incur any new public debt? The revised 1851 constitution addressed important is- Why or why not? discuss this with your partner or sues, such as public debt and free public education, but it write an individual journal entry in which you answer also brought into question the state of civil rights for these questions and reflect on how article X, section 5 female hoosiers. Through the activities below, which can of Indiana’s 1851 constitution helps to shape Indiana’s budget today.

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Activity 2: Free Public Education u The wording of the educational sections of the 1851 constitution reflected the success of reformer caleb u reread section 3.3 of chapter three, which addresses Mills’s campaign to strengthen the commitment to the development of Indiana’s educational system. free public education. It also set the stage for the With your partner, reflect on the state of the educa- passage of the 1852 Free school law, which made tional system in Indiana in 1840 as reported in the it mandatory for the state to provide at least three census of that year. How does the reality of 1840 months of free, compulsory common-school educa- compare with the ideal set forth in the 1816 tion. In addition, the 1852 law levied a state tax to constitution: help fund public schools. It shall be the duty of the General assembly, as soon 1 what arguments were offered against a as circumstances will permit, to provide, by law, for government-controlled educational system? a general system of education, ascending in a regular gradation, from township schools to a state university, 2 Do you agree with these arguments? why or wherein tuition shall be gratis, and equally open to all. why not?

u consider the implications of the lack of a public u today, education reformers are looking for ways to education system. improve the public school system. The use of school vouchers to allow students to attend private schools 1 who receives an education when free schooling using public tax money has become a hot-button is- is not available? sue. some support this move, saying Hoosiers should 2 how would the lack of an educational system have the right to decide what schools their children affect the development of the state at large? attend and that the tax money set aside to educate a student should follow him or her to the parents’ u article VIII, section 1 of the 1851 constitution states: school of choice. others say these provisions weaken public schools by diverting funds away from them. Knowledge and learning, generally diffused through- out a community, being essential to the preservation of 1 what do you think Caleb Mills would think a free government; it shall be the duty of the General about school vouchers? Assembly to encourage, by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improvement; 2 what would those hoosiers think who were and to provide, by law, for a general and uniform opposed to the education provisions of the 1851 system of Common Schools, wherein tuition shall be constitution and the 1852 Free School Law? without charge, and equally open to all. 3 Choose a side of this issue to argue in a debate and In article VIII, section 2, the constitution also sets work with a partner who will argue the other side aside money from various state and township funds of the debate. Acting as someone from 1851— and authorizes the levying of “taxes on the property either a supporter of common schools such as of corporations, that may be assessed by the General Caleb Mills—or a person who opposes a statewide assembly for common school purposes.” system of public schools—prepare your pro or con arguments. Share these with your partner so that 1 what provisions did the 1851 constitution make he or she can provide feedback that may help you for schools? strengthen your statements. Then, come back to- gether for a class debate with one-half of the class 2 Do you think that making further provisions for representing the pro position and the other half free public schooling should have been a priority representing the con position. Let your teacher for the drafters of the 1851 constitution? why determine which side presents a more convincing or why not? argument.

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Activity 3: Women’s Civil Rights The published report of the debates of the constitutional convention includes remarks made by both Robert Dale Introduction: The convention that gathered to draft Owen in support of married women’s property rights indiana’s 1851 constitution was composed exclusively as well as remarks by william R. haddon against such of white men. Not only were there no female delegates rights. Owen indicated that the right to acquire, possess, to the convention, hoosier women at the time lacked and protect property was specifically mentioned in the suffrage, meaning that they, like the state’s African U.S. constitution and applied to American women as well Americans, did not enjoy the right to vote. Furthermore, as men. haddon said that bestowing this right created a married women could not own property. Upon marriage, slippery slope to the rights of representation and suffrage a woman’s personal property legally passed to her for women. he argued that women did not possess “the husband. necessary degree of political knowledge” because their hoosier women found an ally in Robert Dale Owen from domestic duties directed their attention elsewhere, limit- New harmony, who introduced a section to the 1851 ing “their knowledge in matters of civil government.” constitution that would have allowed married women to (Report of the Debates and Proceedings, 462–70) own property. Owen’s proposal was adopted three times, u create a poster urging convention delegates to but each time was recalled and eliminated. Although vote for or against property rights for married married women finally achieved the right to own prop- women. Make sure that your poster uses images that erty in 1853, the 1851 convention did not take this step. express visually the arguments of the side you are The 1851 constitution extended suffrage to white male representing. immigrants who had been in the United States for at least a year and living in indiana for at least six months and u Imagine a conversation between owen or a were professing an intention to become a U.S. citizen. Hoosier woman and Haddon about this issue. With however, hoosier women did not achieve the right to your partner, create a short skit representing this vote until 1920. conversation. Perform your skit for the class. u With a partner, discuss how the 1851 constitution failed to afford Hoosier women equal opportunities. Activity References Fowler, h., convention reporter. Report of the Debates and 1 Do you think that the 1853 law that awarded Proceedings of the Convention for the Revision of the Constitu- married women property rights could have been tion of the State of Indiana. indianapolis: A. h. Brown, 1850. achieved without the groundwork laid by Robert internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/report debatesan00indigoog. Dale Owen’s proposed section of the 1851 constitution? why or why not? Kettleborough, Charles. Constitution Making in Indiana: A Source Book of Constitutional Documents with Historical Introduction 2 why do you think some hoosiers opposed and Critical Notes. Vol. 1. 1916. Reprint, indianapolis: indiana historical Bureau, 1971. indiana historical Bureau and allowing married women to own property? indiana Supreme Court, 1816 constitution, http://www .in.gov/history/2460.htm; 1851 constitution, http://www .in.gov/history/2473.htm.

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